A Relaxed Approach
Mr. Malsin, by contrast, radiates golden sunshine and inflexible optimism. At the lunch hour, he was pleased to talk to thefrontpageonline.com about his private agreement that the City Council confirmed last Monday. Stretching out on the living room couch in jeans and tee-shirt at his Westside home, Mr. Malsin was warmed up to analyze. This is all very reflective of the approach that I use for dealing with things, he said. When I sat with Dan Rosenfeld (of Urban Partners), I was very direct about the issues that were of great importance to me. He was very anxious to meet with me. He was about to go on a trip, but he wanted to meet with me as soon as he could. This was the most efficient one hour I ever have spent. To me, there was quite a clear set of issues involved. The city is in possession of (75 percent) of the (proposed light rail) property, and now there was great certainty the line was going to be constructed. We were in a strong position for the first time since the light rail line from downtown Los Angeles to Culver City was discussed.
Second Round Was in Doubt
The question of whether the City Council would agree to a second 9-month Exclusive Negotiation Agreement with U. Partners lay dormant for almost a year and a half. Mr. Malsin, growing as a diplomat, skillfully avoided using any blame words for the breakdown between the two parties. However, other sources at City Hall have said that the developer did not perform impressively during the 9 months of the first agreement, and the two sides were at a stalemate. No one was motivated to provide a nudge to spark renewed action. Until Mr. Malsin materialized.
First Contract Did Not Work
The first 9-month term was not very productive, unfortunately, Mr. Malsin said. But there is no reason to blame anyone for that, really. There were issues related to creating a good design. And there were issues connected to the location of the light rail station. That made it difficult to come to a good arrangement for the city with Urban Partners. I told Dan Rosenfeld the compelling issue, to me, was that they help us gain the funding for the (permanent) aerial station. To me, what matters here are the results. I believe Urban Partners is a very qualified firm to be partnering with the city. They are well aware that during the 270 days of our agreement the ($30 million in) funding has to be there. I personally will continue to do whatever I can to convince the powers that be to participate in funding the project. We will make our best efforts. They will clearly make their best efforts to secure the funding. They have a powerful motivation. But no matter what, we will have the station. The property is in the citys possession. Urban Partners wants to be our partner in a very substantial project. The upside for them is if the funding is secured for the aerial station, and all the other conditions of the (Exclusive Negotiation Agreement) are met, they will be the developer. It is clear in the agreement that if the funding is not there in 270 days, we are under no obligation to continue working with them.
How the Two Contracts Differ
For reasons of clarification, Mr. Malsin offered to restate the perceived underappreciation of the scope of his accomplishment. You dont understand how significant this was, he said. There was no condition relating to location of the station in our previous agreement. This is absolutely new. The clock is ticking. They have a powerful motivation to help us achieve our goal before time runs out. Urban Partners is well connected throughout all levels of government to help us make this happen. This would put the whole idea of an interim station out of the picture, and this will allow us to go ahead with the station in the right location.
